10 Defensive Soccer Drills Every Aspiring Star Player Needs to Practice Daily

1. 1v1 into 2v2 and 3v3

For this drill, use cones to set up a 15 x 15-yard grid with four nets and four red cones. Place 6 players on each team.

Set up a blue cone 5 yards from the corner red cone to create a waiting zone for the 6 players. Then follow these instructions:

1. Give each player on each team a number one through six

2. Players begin from the corner waiting area behind their blue cone

3. Call out a number for a player to run and win the ball

4. The player who wins can score in any one of the four goals you've set up

5. If the defender wins the ball from the player, they can score any one of the four goals

6. The ball dies if it goes out of play and you start again

The coach can call any combination of numbers to create a 2v2 or 3v3 game as well as a 1v1 game.

As a coach, you can see your player's skills best by recording them and watching the film with them later. You can follow a thousand soccer defensive tips, but when players see themselves in action, they can see where they can improve, and the team defending skills of developing players will grow immensely.

2. Circle Rondo Drill

A circle rondo drill helps your team practice defensive formations in soccer. Use cones to create a circle of 10 yards in diameter and position two defenders inside the circle. Then have the rest of your players space out on the outside of the circle.

Players outside the circle will pass to any of the other players on the outside of the circle. Defensive players inside the circle attempt to cut off the passing lanes and win the ball. If the offensive players lose the ball, they must switch spots with the defender.

If you're using tech that lets you see the field as you coach, you can view this game and see which players have quick feet and good decision-making skills.

3. 4v2 Game

This drill works well for soccer defense and soccer offense. Begin by setting up a grid with portable goals 75 feet away from the primary goal. You want a field that is 75 feet long and then as wide as the pitch.

Split your team into two and give each team a goalkeeper.

Two attackers begin attacking the goal and two defenders begin by defending the goal. Then attacking players come into the pitch and ask for the ball from their team that is near the defensive area.

Defending team members send in two players to take out the attackers. The game starts when the attacker passes the ball to one of his teammates. In the end, you should have four attackers and two defenders that are playing 4v2 on a small soccer grid.

4. 2V2 Attack And Defense

A 2v2 drill teaches defenders to discern what the attacker is going to do and then stop them. The defender must block the attacker.

Begin by creating a grid of 90x120 feet. Put a goal on each line. Then position two attackers on the sideline and then two defenders with a ball on the other sideline.

The game begins when a defender passes a ball to the attacker. Then the defender closes in to keep attackers from passing and scoring. The attacker may score by attacking any of the goals.

The game stops when the attacker scores or the ball goes out of bounds. Players replace themselves and keep going.

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5. Liverpool

This drill is named after Liverpool, a soccer club known for its aggressive style of play. Begin by setting up four cones and creating a small field. Then begin scrimmaging without goalies.

Each team will receive one point for each goal. However, if a team wins the ball on their opponent's side and then scores, they earn two points instead of just one.

This drill encourages players to defend their goals aggressively, win the ball, and turn a win into a goal.

6. Team Shield Steal

This drill helps players develop shielding and ball possession skills. Here are your instructions:

1. Divide your players into teams.

2. Give each player on just one team a ball

3. Have those players shield the balls as the other team attempts to steal them.

4. Players may team up to steal or switch around to steal the ball.

5. Once a player steals the ball, they need to shield it.

The team with the most balls at the end of a given time wins the game.

7. Capture the Balls

Use cones to create a rectangular grid. then line the balls up down the middle of the grid. Set up a home base with four cones.

Each team then tries to get and keep as many balls as they can. Players may steal balls from bases to get them over to their base.

Give the players a countdown to the end when the time is running out.

This game encourages teams to have a game plan, win the ball, go for the steal, and protect their base. After the first round of this game, have teams take a moment to create a strategy. This encourages players to work together as a team as well.

8. Knockout

With knockout, your players each have a ball. They work on poke tackling other balls while shielding their balls. When a player's ball goes out of bounds, they must complete five taps to come back into the game.

9. Defending When Outnumbered

Set up two defenders to defend a goal while three attacking players move toward it.

The defenders work together to stop the attacker, despite being outnumbered.

The defenders focus on delay, recovery, and balance as they try to win the ball. When they regain the ball, they pass it to a target player to score and repeat the cycle.The game can progress from 2v1 to 3v2 to 3v3 to 4v3.

10. 4v4 to Small Goals Defending

This simple drill has players working in sets of four. They scrimmage with small goals and focus on both group and individual defending skills in particular. Players must use small goals for this drill to work best.

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Practice Defensive Soccer Drills and Record the Progress

With these effective defensive soccer drills, you will see your team's defensive skills improve immensely. Pick out a few drills, and have your teams practice them. If you're looking to take your team's game to the next level, an AI-powered sports camera could be beneficial. By recording the training sessions, you are able to track the progress of the team as well as each individual player. Being able to give visual feedback can be invaluable for players of all levels.

Veo Cam 2 allows coaches to focus on coaching and not worry about running a camera. With Veo you can automatically record, as well as live-stream your training sessions and matches. After the the match is finished you simply upload the recording to the Veo Editor platform. When your match is processed, our AI automatically detects goals, kickoffs, and half-time, so you spend less time searching and more time analyzing. You can also draw on the screen and make personalized highlights, and much more.